EASTLEIGH have reluctantly outlined their ticket plans for a potential FA Cup clash against Manchester United – with the possibility of it being shifted to a neutral ground.

The National League side will host a “very good” Newport County AFC in a replay on Tuesday for the right to take on the Red Devils in the fourth round of the competition.

County have sold their allocation of away tickets for the replay at the Silverlake Stadium, which has a listed capacity of 5,200.

The size of the ground means that it is not yet certain Eastleigh would be able to host Manchester United at their home venue, although the Spitfires are confident they won’t have to shift and they did attract a 5,000 crowd for their second round win against League One Reading.

Nonetheless, the buzz of a potential meeting with Premier League big guns has put Eastleigh, who battled for a 1-1 draw in Newport when down to 10 men, in a tricky spot.

South Wales Argus: HOME: Eastleigh hope to beat Newport County to host Manchester United at Silverlake StadiumHOME: Eastleigh hope to beat Newport County to host Manchester United at Silverlake Stadium (Image: Press Association)

“We clearly have a very difficult fixture to navigate first against a very good team who will be equally as determined to win the game and it is our preference to focus on this fixture,” read a club statement.

“However, the logistical issues for a club of our size in playing a club the size of Manchester United means we do need to explore and communicate certain provisional plans in the hope of reducing the understandable high volume of calls we are dealing with.

“We are unable to confirm potential ticket allocations or prices however we can confirm that the fixture would be played at our home stadium unless our safety advisory group feels the club cannot stage the match safely, which we feel is extremely unlikely.

“We are exploring the possibility of extending our temporary seating to increase capacity to enable more fans to attend should we be successful.”

Eastleigh went on to outline the ticket sales process, which would begin for season ticket holders the day after the Exiles replay.

County will be keen to be the ones dealing with the mad scramble for tickets and Rodney Parade staff have already been outlining possible scenarios, although their history at dealing with big football and rugby fixtures mean they can keep planning in-house.

The Exiles already have some bumper home fixtures on the horizon with only 600 tickets left for the clash with Wrexham on January 20 while Swindon visit on February 3.